"Working Snacks" at school?!

[lynninpa]

At my son's school, they now have what they call "Working Snacks." They are not allowed even a 5 minute break to have morning snack-they must eat their snack while working on the lesson at hand. This just makes me angry! Geeez, as adults we are guaranteed by law to have breaks at work! Anyone else have this "rule" in their child's school?
Edited To Add: It is not the "food" part that bothered me enough to post-it is the lack of a 5 minute break, either in the am or in the pm that upsets me.

 

[N&B'smom]

Nope, they don't have it at my son's school. But honestly, I feel they should do away with snack time unless it's the kindergarten class. My DS was in 2nd grade last year and I just don't understand why he needs to have a snack and then eat lunch about an hour to an hour and a half later. He doesn't snack at home between breakfast and lunch, why does he need to do it at school?

Sorry, that's a whole other topic I guess. But to answer your question, no they don't have that at my son's school.

Shelby

 

[Blondy876]

Yes, and I think it's great. This way children who are hungry get an opportunity to eat and those who are not hungry don't have to stop what they are doing to have a snack they don't really want.

 

[pearlieq]

I actually think it's a pretty good compromise.

I also question why school-aged kids need a morning snack. But I guess there are some kids who have smaller stomachs, don't like a heavy breakfast, are grazers, or might not get enough to eat at home. They can get a snack if they need it and everyone can keep working. I would think it keeps classroom disruption to a minimum.

 

[XYSRUS]

My one DS has a working snack at school. It should be healthy though and they are allowed a water bottle with them throughout the day. The snack is b/c his grade eats the latest. I'm cool with it b/c the kids are eating while the teacher is explaining something. Believe me, it's just not 5 min to eat. If you let them, kids'll take forever. Plus, I bet these same kids have no time at lunch to thoughouly enjoy their meal. Luch period id quick.

 

[mommasita]

I also wish they would do away with it in higher grades. My daughter is in grade 3, and does not need snack. Granted morning is long, but she eats before leaving for school, and when she does eat her snack, she won't eat lunch. She almost is guaranteed to come home hungry and grumpy after school..

I see the need in K and grade one, but not after that, unless they have a medical condition.

 

[4greatboys]

Nope, they don't have it at my son's school. But honestly, I feel they should do away with snack time unless it's the kindergarten class. My DS was in 2nd grade last year and I just don't understand why he needs to have a snack and then eat lunch about an hour to an hour and a half later. He doesn't snack at home between breakfast and lunch, why does he need to do it at school?

Sorry, that's a whole other topic I guess. But to answer your question, no they don't have that at my son's school.

Shelby

Not all snack time is in the morning. In my sons first grade class snack time is in the afternoon. They eat lunch at 10:30 am so by the afternoon many of the kids are ready for a snack.

 

[lynninpa]

It is not the "food" part that bothered me enough to post-it is the lack of a 5 minute break, either in the am or in the pm that upsets me.

 

[pearlieq]

It is not the "food" part that bothered me enough to post-it is the lack of a 5 minute break, either in the am or in the pm that upsets me.

Do they not have recess? Or bathroom breaks?

 

[HSMndLKfan92]

I had a "working snack" in third and fourth grade, about six years ago.
In fifth grade, I didn't even have a snack.

 

[addicted_to_WDW]

I don't think my DS had breaks other than for lunch after kindergarten. If they have to go to the bathroom, they go individually. Snack time ended with kindergarten too, although now that he's in middle school it isn't uncommon for him to grab a granola bar and eat it between classes.

 

[KariC]

Do they not have recess? Or bathroom breaks?

That's what I was thinking....Not to mention that most elementary kids will get done with some of their classwork "early", thus providing a bit of a break. If the teacher is so "harsh" that there aren't down periods during the day, I'd be worried. Most teachers don't lecture and expect kids to do worksheets/books for hours straight. They'll do educational games, they have their "specials" like music, gym, etc. to provide "breaks" from instruction time.

Maybe you should meet with his teacher this year and find out her teaching style and see how she incorporates down time into the kids' days.

 

[va32h]

What age children are we talking about? At my kids' school they have neither snack time nor break time. They have lunch and recess. They use the bathroom before they go to lunch and before they go back to class after recess. If they have to go at some other time during the day, they ask for a bathroom pass. I think the kindergartners actually have a bathroom in their classroom.

I have a 2nd grader and a 6th grader. Their school day is 7 hours, and they do fine with this schedule.

 

[bfeller]

Gee, I never heard of snack breaks. I didn't have any when I was in school and my children who ages 22 and 19 never had a snack break at any of their schools and they went to school in 4 different states. Is that something new like in the last 5 years?

But a working snack break sounds fair to me.

 

[MerryPoppins]

My DD and DS had the same combined 4th/5th classroom (with the same teacher just different years). She told them they could eat any healthy snack (not candy, cookies, sweets, etc) just about any time during the day that they felt the need. Most kids brought something extra in their lunches or a little something extra if they bought their lunch. My kids both felt that chewing on an apple or something would be just the pick-me-up they needed if they started to get a bit low on energy, the same way they liked a snack when they were studying after school.

It never seemed to disturb the class and my DD who never seemed to be able to finish her lunch often ate part of her lunch an hour early as her snack so that her lunch was smaller and quicker to finish.

 

[JennaTX]

My DD had this in K only. They ate lunch early around 10:45, and their recess was at the end of the day.

They had their snack at recess and only fruit was allowed. I thought this was a great idea!

 

[drivencrazy]

My daughter is in 4th grade (9yr) and just started school this week... they are allowed to bring a healthy snack to have mid morning... a working snack, it can't be messy... this is because they have the last lunch around 1pm and they are way hungry by then. So they will do this for the year, or till they get use to eating that late!

 

[mommylicious]

My son had working snack in 1st grade and it worked out really well. They have mini-breaks with their transition times as they go from one thing to another plus they have lunch and recess. His 2nd grade teacher has 15 minutes for snack in the schedule. Not working snack. That seems excessive to me, but then that isn't my only issue with things in that class so I'm sure it agravates me even more because of the other stuff!

 

[shortbun]

Our school snacks all the classes while they work. They always have. They also let kids go to the bathroom whenever they want to. Even the 6th and 7th graders can bring their own snack. My son eats when he's hungry, not by some bell. I'm thankful the school he attends is informal and accomodates everyone.

 

[DisneyFreak72]

If we follow the logic on some of the other ongoing threads, it would seem that kids are being supported by tax payer dollars and therefore shouldn't waste a minute with mere childhood play or, good heavens, nutrition and toileting! Those are hard earned tax dollars pulled out of the pockets of Dis'ers at gunpoint. Why should some ungrateful child have time to rest????? Doesn't that 6 year old know how hard some rich American taxpayer worked to gift those schools to them? And, if they are taking breaks in school for snack they better not be going on vacation anywhere, and their mother's better not be getting child support!!!

Sorry. Had to get that off my chest. I think I need to floss again.